Discovery BoxRuth 1:18--2:2 
Context1:18 When Naomi 1 realized that Ruth 2 was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to dissuade her. 3 1:19 So the two of them 4 journeyed together until they arrived in Bethlehem. 5
When they entered 6 Bethlehem, 7 the whole village was excited about their arrival. 8 The women of the village said, 9 “Can this be Naomi?” 10 1:20 But she replied 11 to them, 12 “Don’t call me ‘Naomi’! 13 Call me ‘Mara’ 14 because the Sovereign One 15 has treated me very harshly. 16 1:21 I left here full, 17 but the Lord has caused me to return empty-handed. 18 Why do you call me ‘Naomi,’ seeing that 19 the Lord has opposed me, 20 and the Sovereign One 21 has caused me to suffer?” 22 1:22 So Naomi returned, accompanied by her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, who came back with her from the region of Moab. 23 (Now they 24 arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.) 25
2:1 Now Naomi 26 had a relative 27 on her husband’s side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech. 28 2:2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go 29 to the fields so I can gather 30 grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” 31 Naomi 32 replied, “You may go, my daughter.”
1 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “she ceased speaking to her.” This does not imply that Naomi was completely silent toward Ruth. It simply means that Naomi stopped trying to convince her to go back to Moab (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 84-85).
4 tn The suffix “them” appears to be masculine, but it is probably an archaic dual form (E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 65; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 75-76).
5 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
6 tn The temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi, “and it was”) here introduces a new scene.
7 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
8 tn Heb “because of them” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “excited to see them.”
9 tn Heb “they said,” but the verb form is third person feminine plural, indicating that the women of the village are the subject.
10 tn Heb “Is this Naomi?” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The question here expresses surprise and delight because of the way Naomi reacts to it (F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 92).
11 tn Heb “said.” For stylistic reasons the present translation employs “replied” here.
12 tn The third person feminine plural form of the pronominal suffix indicates the women of the village (see v. 19) are the addressees.
13 sn The name Naomi means “pleasant.”
14 sn The name Mara means “bitter.”
15 tn Heb “Shaddai”; traditionally “the Almighty.” The etymology and meaning of this divine name is uncertain. It may be derived from: (1) שָׁדַד (shadad, “to be strong”), cognate to Arabic sdd, meaning “The Strong One” or “Almighty”; (2) שָׁדָה (shadah, “mountain”), cognate to Akkadian shadu, meaning “The Mountain Dweller” or “God of the Mountains”; (3) שָׁדַד (shadad, “to devastate”) and שַׁד (shad, “destroyer”), Akkadian Shedum, meaning “The Destroyer” or “The Malevolent One”; or (4) שֶׁ (she, “who”) plus דִּי (diy, “sufficient”), meaning “The One Who is Sufficient” or “All-Sufficient One” (HALOT 1420-22 s.v. שַׁדַּי, שַׁדָּי). In terms of use, Shaddai (or El Shaddai) is presented as the sovereign king/judge of the world who grants life/blesses and kills/judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he blesses/protects and also takes away life/happiness. In light of Naomi’s emphasis on God’s sovereign, malevolent deprivation of her family, one can understand her use of this name for God. For discussion of this divine name, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72.
16 tn Or “caused me to be very bitter”; NAB “has made it very bitter for me.”
17 sn I left here full. That is, with a husband and two sons.
18 tn Heb “but empty the
sn Empty-handed. This statement is highly ironic, for ever-loyal Ruth stands by her side even as she speaks these words. These words reflect Naomi’s perspective, not the narrator’s, for Ruth will eventually prove to be the one who reverses Naomi’s plight and “fills” her “emptiness.” Naomi’s perspective will prove to be inaccurate and the women will later correct Naomi’s faulty view of Ruth’s value (see 4:15).
19 tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) here introduces either an attendant circumstance (“when the
20 tc The LXX reads “humbled me” here, apparently understanding the verb as a Piel (עָנָה, ’anah) from a homonymic root meaning “afflict.” However, עָנָה (“afflict”) never introduces its object with בְּ (bet); when the preposition בְּ is used with this verb, it is always adverbial (“in, with, through”). To defend the LXX reading one would have to eliminate the preposition.
tn Heb “has testified against me” (KJV, ASV both similar); NAB “has pronounced against me.” The idiom עָנַה בִי (’anah viy, “testify against”) is well attested elsewhere in legal settings (see BDB 773 s.v. עָנָה Qal.3.a; HALOT 852 s.v. I ענה qal.2). Naomi uses a legal metaphor and depicts the
21 sn The divine name translated Sovereign One is שַׁדַּי (shadday, “Shaddai”). See further the note on this term in Ruth 1:20.
22 tn Or “brought disaster upon me”; NIV “brought misfortune (calamity NRSV) upon me”; NLT “has sent such tragedy.”
23 tn Heb “and Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, the one who returned from the region of Moab.”
sn This summarizing statement provides closure to the first part of the story. By highlighting Ruth’s willingness to return with Naomi, it also contrasts sharply with Naomi’s remark about being empty-handed.
24 tn The pronoun appears to be third person masculine plural in form, but it is probably an archaic third person dual form (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 94).
25 tn This statement, introduced with a disjunctive structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) provides closure for the previous scene, while at the same time making a transition to the next scene, which takes place in the barley field. The reference to the harvest also reminds the reader that God has been merciful to his people by replacing the famine with fertility. In the flow of the narrative the question is now, “Will he do the same for Naomi and Ruth?”
sn The barley harvest began in late March. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 91.
26 tn The disjunctive clause (note the vav [ו] + prepositional phrase structure) provides background information essential to the following narrative.
27 tc The marginal reading (Qere) is מוֹדַע (moda’, “relative”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְיֻדָּע (miyudda’, “friend”). The textual variant was probably caused by orthographic confusion between consonantal מְיֻדָּע and מוֹדַע. Virtually all English versions follow the marginal reading (Qere), e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV “kinsman”; NIV, NCV, NLT “relative.”
28 tn Heb “and [there was] to Naomi a relative, to her husband, a man mighty in substance, from the clan of Elimelech, and his name [was] Boaz.”
29 tn The cohortative here (“Let me go”) expresses Ruth’s request. Note Naomi’s response, in which she gives Ruth permission to go to the field.
30 tn Following the preceding cohortative, the cohortative with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result.
31 tn Heb “anyone in whose eyes I may find favor” (ASV, NIV similar). The expression אֶמְצָא־חֵן בְּעֵינָיו (’emtsa’-khen bÿ’enayv, “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) appears in Ruth 2:2, 10, 13. It is most often used when a subordinate or servant requests permission for something from a superior (BDB 336 s.v. חֵן). Ruth will play the role of the subordinate servant, seeking permission from a landowner, who then could show benevolence by granting her request to glean in his field behind the harvest workers.
32 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
